Preview Newsletter
PM ACC 9/20/17
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(ACC Mentioned) SEHSC Submits D4 Environmental Study to EPA
Sep 20, 2017 | Rubber & Plastics News
By Miles Moore
The Silicones Environmental, Health and Safety Center of the American Chemistry Council has submitted a final report on its D4 environmental monitoring program to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. -
(ACC Mentioned) Trump's Pick for Top EPA Post Under Scrutiny for Deep Ties to Chemical Industry
Sep 20, 2017 | EcoWatch
By Lorraine Chow
From Scott Pruitt to Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump has notoriously appointed a slew of individuals with serious conflicts of interests with the departments they oversee. -
(ACC Mentioned) U.S. Imports Spike, Raising Questions Amid EPA Review
Sep 19, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Corbin Hiar
Imports of asbestos are up for the first time in years, raising the stakes on U.S. EPA's ongoing review of the cancer-causing mineral. -
US Agency Asks Courts to Consolidate TSCA Lawsuits
Sep 20, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The US EPA has asked federal courts to consolidate pending lawsuits that challenge its implementation of the 2016 TSCA amendments, and suspend deadlines for filing legal arguments until the issue is settled. -
US EPA Extends CBI Deadline by a Month
Sep 20, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The US EPA has extended the deadline by a month for companies to submit documentation substantiating recent confidential business information (CBI) claims. -
EPA Requests Transfer of TSCA Framework Suit to Fourth Circuit
Sep 20, 2017 | National Law Review
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Margaret R. Graham
On September 14, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed a motion in the two Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals cases regarding review of the EPA Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) framework rule Procedures for Chemical Risk Evaluation under TSCA. -
Killing Asbestos: How You Can Help Finally Silence This Toxin
Sep 20, 2017 | IVN
By Kate Harveston
Asbestos, widely used for centuries given its strong, heat-resistant properties, is a grouping of minerals usually found in soils and rocks. Predominantly made out of silicon and oxygen fibers, asbestos is used to insulate buildings and homes. It’s also used in ship-building, cement, car brake pads and hundreds of other products. -
CPSC Votes to Protect consumers from Toxic Flame Retardants
Sep 20, 2017 | Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families
By CJ Frogozo
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted today to grant a petition by Earthjustice, Consumer Federation of America and several coalition partners to use its authority under the Federal Hazardous Substance Act and adopt rules to protect consumers and children from the health hazards of toxic flame retardant chemicals used in four categories of household products (children’s products, upholstered furniture, mattresses and the casings surrounding electronics). -
Toxic Flame Retardant Chemicals Found in TVs
Sep 20, 2017 | Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families
By CJ Frogozo
A new study released today finds TVs could be bad for your health in an unexpected way: TVs contain toxic flame retardant chemicals that can contaminate homes. -
Endocrine-Disrupting Preservatives Promote Obesity, US Study Finds
Sep 19, 2017 | Chemical Watch
A human stem cell study has linked the preservatives butylhydroxytoluene (BHT), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and tributyltin (TBT) to obesity. -
House Approves 2018 Spending Bills, Rejects Further US EPA Cuts
Sep 19, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The House of Representatives has approved legislation setting out 2018 government spending. As a result, the funding for the EPA – proposed by an appropriations committee in July – remains unchanged. -
Echa Says Benefits of REACH Authorisation Outweigh Risks
Sep 20, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Luke Buxton
Echa’s analysis of the first 100 applications for REACH authorisation shows the socio-economic benefits of continued use of SVHCs "outweigh" the risks to human health and the environment, according to a new agency report. -
Meetings Resume With Protests But No Pipelines
Sep 20, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Rod Kuckro
For the first time since January, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will hold an open meeting today. -
Gulf Coast PE Units Begin Producing, with Harvey-Delayed Cracker Ready in Early ‘18, Says Chevron Phillips
Sep 19, 2017 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Carolyn Davis
Two polyethylene (PE) units at Old Ocean east of Houston in Brazoria County have begun production, with each able produce up to 500,000 metric tons/year to service ever-increasing petrochemical demand, Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LLC said Tuesday. -
Harvey Makes Landfall in Texas, but Drilling Returns Remain Strong
Sep 20, 2017 | Platts Blog
By Taylor Cavey
Despite devastating weather that sent energy market participants into a frenzy, the average of the 12-month forward curve for WTI remained flat month on month at $50.43/b. -
Gulf Coast Energy Complex Still Licking Wounds After Hurricane Harvey
Sep 20, 2017 | Houston Chronicle
By Collin Eaton
The Gulf Coast's vast energy network is making a comeback three weeks after Hurricane Harvey. -
Refinery Weakened by Harvey Catches Fire
Sep 20, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Nathanial Gronewold
An oil refinery battered by Hurricane Harvey caught fire yesterday, highlighting the lingering dangers inherent in restarting these shuttered fuels manufacturing plants. -
Trump EPA Nominee to Fight Worker Safety Rule in Court
Sep 19, 2017 | The Hill - Regulation
By Lydia Wheeler
President Trump’s pick to lead air and radiation policy at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is slated to argue on behalf of industry groups in a federal court of appeals next week against an Obama-era rule protecting workers from being exposed to harmful silica dust. -
(ACC Mentioned) Climate Change And Hurricanes
Sep 20, 2017 | WAMC
By Judith Enck
There were just a few days between the time when Hurricane Harvey caused historic flooding in Texas and Louisiana and when Hurricane Irma slammed into the Carribean, Florida and Georgia. -
Kerry Slams Trump Team: 'That's Not Leadership'
Sep 20, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Jean Chemnick
John Kerry thinks the United States will meet its commitments under the Paris climate deal even if the Trump administration spends the next few years on the sidelines.
Industry and Association News
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Chemical Management News
Energy News
Chemical Security News
Environment News
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(ACC Mentioned) SEHSC Submits D4 Environmental Study to EPA
Sep 20, 2017 | Rubber & Plastics News
By Miles Moore
The Silicones Environmental, Health and Safety Center of the American Chemistry Council has submitted a final report on its D4 environmental monitoring program to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
D4 is a colorless, odorless, non-oily silicone fluid used as an intermediate to make silicone polymers, according to the SEHSC. It has important applications in a number of industries, including construction, transportation, health care and electronics.
The final report provides the EPA with actual environmental concentrations measured in samples from 14 sites across the U.S. for the past two years, according to Karluss Thomas, senior director of the ACC's Chemical Products and Technology Division.
Although the monitoring was completed two months ago, the SEHSC is still undertaking a third-party evaluation of the data, Thomas said.
"There's no clear sense of timing for completion, but I expect it will be sometime in the first quarter of 2018," he said. "But our preliminary assessment supports our contention that no regulatory action is needed on D4."
The report is part of the April 2014 agreement between the SEHSC and the EPA to be partners in an environmental testing and risk assessment for D4.
The SEHSC worked directly with the EPA to design and wholly fund the D4 environmental monitoring program, according to Thomas. The agency will use the SEHSC data to prepare its own risk assessment program for D4, he said.
The EPA has not told the SEHSC about the timing for its risk assessment program, according to Thomas. But the organization stands ready to provide additional technical work to the agency as it continues its work, he said.
"In its evaluation of D4, the silicones industry encourages EPA to take a risk-based approach using the best available science, including the real-world exposure data from the D4 monitoring program," Thomas said.
Canada has already conducted a risk assessment of D4 and found no need for regulating the substance, according to Thomas. But it does require a pollution prevention plan for manufacturing facilities that use D4, he said.
http://www.rubbernews.com/article/20170920/NEWS/170929998/sehsc-submits-d4-environmental-study-to-epa
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(ACC Mentioned) Trump's Pick for Top EPA Post Under Scrutiny for Deep Ties to Chemical Industry
Sep 20, 2017 | EcoWatch
By Lorraine Chow
From Scott Pruitt to Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump has notoriously appointed a slew of individuals with serious conflicts of interests with the departments they oversee.
The latest is Michael L. Dourson, Trump's pick to head the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, the government's chemical safety program. Media reports reveal that the toxicologist is under intense scrutiny for his extensive ties to the chemical industry and a resumé dotted with some of the biggest names in the field: Koch Industries Inc., Chevron Corp., Dow AgroSciences, DuPont and Monsanto.
After working as a staff toxicologist for the EPA from 1980 to 1994, Dourson founded and ran the Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA), a nonprofit research group that has been paid by chemical corporations to research and write reports that downplay the health risks posed by their products, the New York Times reports. TERA has since been renamed as the Risk Science Center at the University of Cincinnati, where Dourson is a professor.
According to the Associated Press, Dourson's research has been "underwritten by industry trade and lobbying groups representing the makers of plastics, pesticides, processed foods and cigarettes."
Dourson's Senate confirmation hearing was originally set for Wednesday but has been postponed to a date that has not yet been announced. If confirmed, Dourson would be in charge of regulating chemicals produced by "his old industry friends," critics have warned.
Notably, Dourson and TERA was contracted by Dow AgroSciences, the maker of chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxic pesticide that has been shown to harm children's brains at even very low exposure levels. Dourson and his researchers argued in three papers that there were flaws in peer-reviewed studies that linked delays in fetal development from chlorpyrifos exposure, the AP reports.
In March, the EPA controversially refused to ban chlorpyrifos claiming the science is "unresolved" and decided it would postpone the determination of the pesticide until 2022.
Dourson was also the lead author of a report funded by Koch Industries that concluded that human exposures to petroleum coke and coal "if any, are well below levels that could be anticipated to produce adverse health effects in the general population."
Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), the ranking minority member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works panel that will evaluate Dourson's qualifications was alarmed by Trump's choice.
"Dr. Dourson's consistent endorsement of chemical safety standards that not only match industry's views, but are also significantly less protective than E.P.A. and other regulators have recommended, raises serious doubts about his ability to lead those efforts," Carper told the Times. "This is the first time anyone with such clear and extensive ties to the chemical industry has been picked to regulate that industry."
A number of experts and environmental and consumer health groups have also spoken against Dourson. The Environmental Defense Fund has listed a number of further objections, including:
After the 2014 chemical spill in Charleston, West Virginia, the state hired Dourson's company, Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA), to convene and manage a health effects expert panel. TERA then appointed Dourson to chair the panel and act as its only spokesperson. The panel's report failed to disclose that Dourson and TERA had done paid work for both of the companies that produced the chemicals involved in the spill. These conflicts only came to light upon questioning of Dourson by a reporter at the panel's news conference.
Dourson and TERA have done extensive work on behalf of the so-called Perchlorate Study Group (PSG), which is actually comprised of producers and users of perchlorate. The work was aimed at reducing the stringency of federal standards. Dourson, who is on EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB), was asked to recuse himself from the Board's 2013 meeting to review EPA's work to develop a drinking water standard for perchlorate. Immediately upon doing so, Dourson provided "public" comments to the Board based on the work he had done for PSG.
In 2012, Dourson and TERA, with funding from the American Chemistry Council (ACC), set up and ran a website called "Kids + Chemical Safety." (This website is now inactive and TERA itself has been migrated to be a center at the University of Cincinnati.) The site was designed to look like a neutral source of advice for parents concerned about chemical safety, but instead mirrored industry talking points about its chemicals and sought to shift responsibility for ensuring safety to the consumer or parent and away from the industry.
"It is not even subtle," Sheldon Krimsky, a Tufts University professor who studies ethics in science and medicine and has reviewed Dourson's work, told the AP. "He has chosen to be the voice of the chemical industry. His role as a scientist is simply the role of an industry-hired lawyer—only to give the best case for their client."
Unsurprisingly, the chemical industry and trade associations have cheered the choice.
"His knowledge, experience and leadership will strengthen EPA's processes for evaluating and incorporating high quality science into regulatory decision making," said Jon Corley, the American Chemistry Council's spokesman.
CropLife America—the main trade and lobbying group for the pesticide industry—called Dourson "a perfect fit."
"We welcome Dr. Dourson's nomination," CropLife America said on its website. "His extensive experience in risk assessment and science, both in government and private sector make him a valuable addition to the office."
https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-epa-pick-2487495174.html
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(ACC Mentioned) U.S. Imports Spike, Raising Questions Amid EPA Review
Sep 19, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Corbin Hiar
Imports of asbestos are up for the first time in years, raising the stakes on U.S. EPA's ongoing review of the cancer-causing mineral.
Tariff and trade data from the Department of Commerce and U.S. International Trade Commission show that 705 metric tons of asbestos was imported last year.
That's more than double the 343 tons shipped to the United States in 2015, according to a U.S. Geological Survey commodities summary from January. The last year imports topped 700 tons was 2013.
Prized for its flame-resistant qualities, asbestos was once widely used in insulation, tiles and other building materials.
But consumption of the mineral has fallen from a record high of 803,000 tons in 1973 due to health and liability issues associated with it. The last U.S. producer of asbestos ceased operations in 2002.
The chloralkali industry is currently the nation's only major user of asbestos and accounted for an estimated 100 percent of domestic consumption in 2016, rising from an estimated 35 percent of consumption in 2010, the USGS said earlier this year. The industry uses asbestos to manufacture semipermeable diaphragms that help produce chlorine, a commonly used industrial chemical.
EPA's failure to ban asbestos under the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 was often cited by public health advocates as one of the shortcomings of the 40-year-old law, which required chemical regulations to be "least burdensome" to industry. While EPA did move to outlaw the mineral in the 1980s, a federal court gutted its ban in 1991.
After bipartisan legislation to overhaul TSCA was enacted last year, EPA included asbestos as one of the first 10 chemicals it would review under the law (E&E News PM, Nov. 29, 2016).
The review process is expected to take three years, which has upset public health advocates who argue EPA already has enough information to justify banning asbestos (Greenwire, Jan. 30).
They raised new concerns today about the increase in asbestos imports, nearly all of which came from Brazil.
"Opponents of an asbestos ban have long argued that asbestos use is shrinking in the United States, but now we know just the opposite is true," Linda Reinstein, the president and co-founder of the nonprofit Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, said in a statement about the import data.
"The EPA needs to ban asbestos with no exceptions," the ADAO president said. "There is no safe or controlled use of asbestos in mining or manufacturing."
Ken Cook, the president of the Environmental Working Group, suggested that chlorine makers could easily use materials other than asbestos.
"The chloralkali industry's insistence on the continued use of deadly asbestos is reprehensible," he said in the same statement. "Meanwhile, we shut our eyes to the communities in Brazil and other asbestos-producing nations, where miners and their families are exposed to this killer."
The American Chemistry Council, a trade group that includes the chloralkali industry, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
ADAO will be holding a congressional staff briefing next Tuesday to discuss increased asbestos imports and their potential impact on public health and the environment.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060061093/search?keyword=American+Chemistry+Council
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US Agency Asks Courts to Consolidate TSCA Lawsuits
Sep 20, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The US EPA has asked federal courts to consolidate pending lawsuits that challenge its implementation of the 2016 TSCA amendments, and suspend deadlines for filing legal arguments until the issue is settled.
Several NGOs filed petitions on 10 and 11 August for court review of the agency's final framework rules for prioritisation and risk evaluation. These have been sharply criticised by NGOs and Democratic lawmakers, since they were published on 22 June.
The petitions argue that they deviate drastically from the proposals set out in the Obama administration's final days, and do not faithfully implement the 2016 TSCA amendments.
In response, on 11 September a coalition of industry organisations moved to intervene in those actions, in defence of the EPA.
Circuit courts
Petitioners challenging implementation of federal laws can file suit with any of the courts of appeals that have jurisdiction over geographical regions of the country. Where to file a suit can be a strategic decision in some cases. Parallel lawsuits challenging the prioritisation and risk evaluation rules were filed in the Second, Fourth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals.
The EPA has now asked the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to consolidate the lawsuits. On 1 September, the risk evaluation lawsuits were consolidated and assigned to the Ninth Circuit, while the prioritisation lawsuits were assigned to the Fourth Circuit. In its 14 September motion, the EPA asked the Ninth Circuit to transfer the risk evaluation case to the Fourth Circuit so the two challenges can be tried simultaneously.
"Although the two rules are distinct and have separate administrative records, the parties anticipate that there will be some overlap of issues," the EPA's filing says.
The agency added that one of the petitioning NGOs – the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments – had already sought consolidation of the two lawsuits for that reason. The Fourth Circuit had agreed to this, before the Panel on Multidistrict Litigation directed it to transfer over the jurisdiction of the risk evaluation suit.
The EPA argued that the Fourth Circuit court, located in Richmond, Virginia, and covering the mid-Atlantic region, has a lighter caseload than the California-based Ninth Circuit. This covers the entire West Coast as well as several other states. It is also more convenient, given that all the attorneys involved are located in the Washington, DC, and New York areas, the EPA said.
The agency asked that filing deadlines in the two cases be suspended, until the courts make a final decision on jurisdiction. As of now, the parallel cases have different deadlines, and the EPA noted that it is possible for additional parties to file petitions to review the rules as late as 2 October.
Inventory notification suit
The EPA's action does not address an additional petition, filed by the Environmental Defense Fund on 1 September. The EDF asked for review of the agency's inventory notification rule, arguing it does not meet the requirements of the new TSCA and allows companies to inappropriately conceal information about chemicals, whose identity they claim is confidential business information (CBI).
Legal experts agreed that the final rule on reporting substances as active or inactive on the TSCA inventory, published on 11 August, will ease notification obligations in a number of ways.
That petition was filed in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which has jurisdiction over the capital.
https://chemicalwatch.com/59046/us-agency-asks-courts-to-consolidate-tsca-lawsuits
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US EPA Extends CBI Deadline by a Month
Sep 20, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The US EPA has extended the deadline by a month for companies to submit documentation substantiating recent confidential business information (CBI) claims.
The agency says that because of the impact of hurricanes Harvey and Irma it has moved the date back to 19 October.
Guidance published in January made clear that substantiation of non-exempt CBI claims had to be submitted, when making a confidentiality claim. This applies to CBI claims made after the guidance took effect on 21 March – one day later than originally planned because of the presidential memorandum that froze the effective date of pending regulations.
Companies that made CBI claims between 22 June 2016 – when the Lautenburg Act was passed – and 21 March this year, originally had until 19 September to back them up.
Companies failing to meet that requirement will be notified by the agency and will then have 30 days to act before their information may be made public.
CBI claims in force prior to the passage of the 2016 TSCA amendments, are covered by the so-called inventory reset rule. This requires manufacturers and importers to advise the EPA of the substances they have used in the ten-year 'lookback period', ending on 21 June 2016. The agency expanded the pool of substances that will be included on an "interim active substances list" – for which notification will not be required – to include those reported as confidential under the 2012/2016 chemical data reporting (CDR) rule.
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has petitioned a federal court to review the inventory notification rule. It argues that it does not meet the requirements of the new TSCA and allows companies to inappropriately conceal information about chemicals, whose identity they claim is CBI.
Legal experts agreed that the final rule on reporting substances as active or inactive on the TSCA inventory, published on 11 August, will ease notification obligations.
https://chemicalwatch.com/59038/us-epa-extends-cbi-deadline-by-a-month
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EPA Requests Transfer of TSCA Framework Suit to Fourth Circuit
Sep 20, 2017 | National Law Review
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Margaret R. Graham
On September 14, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed a motion in the two Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals cases regarding review of the EPA Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) framework rule Procedures for Chemical Risk Evaluation under TSCA: Safer Chemicals Healthy Families v. EPA, Case No. 17-72260 (filed August 10, 2017); and Environmental Defense Fund v. EPA, Case No. 17-72501 (filed September 6, 2017), requesting that the cases be transferred to the Fourth Circuit and to hold the cases in abeyance. In the motion, EPA states three reasons why these cases should be transferred:
“It is in the interest of judicial economy for the same court to hear the challenges to both EPA Rules,” and “although the two Rules are distinct and have separate administrative records, the parties anticipate that there will be some overlap of issues.”
“It would be more convenient for the parties and conserve travel resources for these cases to be heard in the Fourth Circuit, because all counsel of record are located in Washington, DC, or New York.”
“The Fourth Circuit may be able to resolve the petitions for review more quickly than this Court given the respective complexity of the courts’ dockets.”
In this motion, EPA also requests for these cases to be held in abeyance as it “will conserve party resources to wait until resolution of EPA’s motion to transfer before completing any scheduled filings, particularly because the two have different schedules” and “the deadline for interested persons to file petitions for review of the Prioritization and Risk Evaluation Rules has not yet expired…. additional petitions for review … could be filed as late as October 2, 2017.”
In Case No. 17-72260, Petitioners’ briefs are due October 30, 2017, and Respondent EPA’s briefs are due November 28, 2017. A briefing schedule has not been scheduled yet in Case No. 17-72501. On September 11, 2017, in Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, et al. v. EPA, Case No. 17-1926, the Fourth Circuit case regarding review of EPA’s TSCA framework rule Procedures for Chemical Risk Evaluation under TSCA, the Fourth Circuit rescinded the briefing schedule. A new briefing schedule has not been set.
https://www.natlawreview.com/article/epa-requests-transfer-tsca-framework-suit-to-fourth-circuit
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Killing Asbestos: How You Can Help Finally Silence This Toxin
Sep 20, 2017 | IVN
By Kate Harveston
Asbestos, widely used for centuries given its strong, heat-resistant properties, is a grouping of minerals usually found in soils and rocks. Predominantly made out of silicon and oxygen fibers, asbestos is used to insulate buildings and homes. It’s also used in ship-building, cement, car brake pads and hundreds of other products.
Silent Killer
However, there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos given the effect its fibers have on the human body when ingested or inhaled. Asbestos-related diseases kill over 100,000 people globally every year — about 15,000 of which are American.
Mesothelium is the thin layer of cells lining internal organs. Asbestos can lead to that layer becoming inflamed and hindering organ function.
There are three distinct types of mesothelioma recognized that could affect anyone who has ever been in contact with the substance: pleural, peritoneal and pericardial.
People around the world are petitioning to enforce the ban of asbestos, and nearly 60 countries have already banned the mineral’s use, including all of the European Union.
Lung cancer and other diseases have been linked to asbestos time after time. So why is the US taking so long to protect its citizens from such a toxic substance?
Asbestos: Its History in Politics
Here’s a look at asbestos throughout political history:
1976 – This was when the first act came into law that gave authority to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assess and control chemical substances, with further regulation powers over 60,000 chemicals. This original act was known as the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
1989 – The EPA issues a final ruling to begin phasing out asbestos use in the U.S.
1991 – Following overwhelming contestations from manufacturers and producers of asbestos, the EPA ban was overturned. The EPA was criticized for not entirely taking into account the cost of the ban.
1991-2016 – Regulations largely remained unchanged since the rule banning asbestos use was overturned in 1991, with some exceptions.
2016 June – The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act for the 21st Century is brought into law as an overhaul of the TSCA.
2016 November – Asbestos is included within the initial ten chemicals to be assessed under this law.
2017 – The Regulatory Accountability Act is currently being considered in the Senate. It would obligate the EPA to include cost to manufacturers when controlling chemicals.
EPA Gets Green Light
Last year, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21stCentury Act was passed into law for the specific objective of regulating harmful materials such as asbestos. Under this law, the EPA will have undisputed authority to issue another ban on the use and manufacture of asbestos across the country.
Given the lack of progress on controlling the use and manufacture of asbestos as stated above, this is frankly an unmissable opportunitywhich in itself is well overdue.
There have been some major improvements in the new Chemical Safety Act including:
The EPA must rely on health and environmental considerations in their entirety when deciding how to regulate harmful materials and substances. In years past, the EPA had to consider the potential effects a banned substance would have on various industries — which is why asbestos has remained unbanned up to today.
Those among society who are more vulnerable to toxic substance exposure will be prioritized — e.g. children, senior citizens and pregnant women.
Manufacturers will need to notify the EPA ahead of production of a new chemical, and the EPA will have authority to deem it safe or require testing on it. Moreover, the EPA can also investigate substances that are already on the market.
The EPA will prioritize the order in which they investigate and regulate each chemical, meaning asbestos could theoretically be fast-tracked. Deadlines will be institutionalized to provide a standardized procedure for assessing and keeping tabs of each chemical with which they are involved.
All these changes are great, but unfortunately, there is still a lot of work to be done. It could take up to seven years for the EPA to carry out its reviews. In that time, over 100,000 Americans could die as a result of asbestos-related illnesses.
Funding Needed
For the EPA to be successful, it will need to rely on funding and backing. Unfortunately, Congress has oftentimes been very much against projects undertaken by the EPA.
Furthermore, while President Trump has brought in Scott Pruitt to lead the agency, there are concerns over the direction the reviews of asbestos will take given his previous comments.
As you can see, there is still much needed support from the public to guide the considerations of asbestos to the best outcome. There are so many tragic deaths every year due to asbestos exposure which are frankly unnecessary, and this is why 58 other nations have already issued its ban.
Personal Touch
The EPA does have support from several sides. The Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance, for example, works to raise awareness about mesothelioma while educating people about the dangers of asbestos.
Charles MacGregor, a health advocate with the organization, and Heather Von St. James, a nearly 12-year mesothelioma survivor, push for more awareness of the disease and its cause.
“Asbestos is in hundreds of thousands of homes, schools and other public buildings that we visit every day,” MacGregor said. “Most products containing the mineral today are imported into the US. There are some regions of the country where asbestos exposure may be more common, including near Libby, MT, where vermiculite tainted with asbestos was mined and shipped for processing at plants across the country.”
McGregor started working with the MCA a couple years ago she says because of her strong desires to help people. She said, “My work isn’t just about teaching people about mesothelioma. I share information about new treatment methods, policy changes that could impact the future of asbestos and even share stories of hope and survival through our advocate, Heather Von St. James.”
Von St. James also provided her thoughts on living as a survivor of the deadly disease:
“Being an almost 12-year survivor, I’m charting new territory as a long-term survivor,” she said.
“Most patients don’t make it this long. I live very much in the moment and do a lot of advocacy work to speak for those who cannot. I’m just thankful I’m here to experience anything! I partnered with the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance out of the desire to bring awareness to mesothelioma in a broader sense. People who know about mesothelioma are usually patients or loved ones of patients. In order to bring awareness, you need to reach a bigger group.”
How You Can Help
Those at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance hope that bigger group (you, the reader!) will get involved in the fight against asbestos as well. September 26 is Mesothelioma Awareness Day.
Make your voice heard this year by joining the fight. Participate in events, fundraisers and educational initiatives if you can. Even just signing petitions can urge quicker, more effective change.
https://ivn.us/2017/09/20/killing-asbestos-how-you-can-help-finally-silence-this-toxin/
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CPSC Votes to Protect consumers from Toxic Flame Retardants
Sep 20, 2017 | Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families
By CJ Frogozo
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted today to grant a petition by Earthjustice, Consumer Federation of America and several coalition partners to use its authority under the Federal Hazardous Substance Act and adopt rules to protect consumers and children from the health hazards of toxic flame retardant chemicals used in four categories of household products (children’s products, upholstered furniture, mattresses and the casings surrounding electronics).
Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Government Affairs Director, Liz Hitchcock, issued the following statement in response:
“We applaud the CPSC for voting to protect children, firefighters, and all consumers from the proven dangers of toxic flame retardant chemicals. These chemicals are still being used in products that our children come in daily contact with. They’re in our living rooms and in our children’s rooms – in nap mats and in children’s furniture adorned with images of Elsa and Elmo.”
“They expose our families to unnecessary hazard. They expose first responders to additional danger. Today, the CPSC has taken action to protect consumers from these dangers.”
http://saferchemicals.org/newsroom/cpsc-votes-to-protect-consumers-from-toxic-flame-retardants/
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Toxic Flame Retardant Chemicals Found in TVs
Sep 20, 2017 | Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families
By CJ Frogozo
A new study released today finds TVs could be bad for your health in an unexpected way: TVs contain toxic flame retardant chemicals that can contaminate homes. The new testing by Toxic-Free Future and Clean Production Action found that TV manufacturers continue to use toxic flame retardant chemicals in their products despite evidence the chemicals are harmful to health. Two TVs were found to contain the banned chemical flame retardant deca-BDE in apparent violation of Washington state law.
This new information comes on the day the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission will decide whether to grant a petition to ban certain toxic flame retardants in several classes of consumer products, including electronics. Experts are concerned about the flame retardant chemicals in TVs because they can escape the products and end up in household dust, exposing adults and children to the chemicals through ingestion, such as through hand-to-mouth activity.
A copy of the study, “TV Reality: Toxic Flame Retardants in TVs,” can be found at toxicfreefuture.org/flame-retardants-tvs.
Specifically, the study tested 12 TV housings (the plastic outer portion) for seven flame retardants of high and moderate concern for health. The TVs were made by 12 different manufacturers, including Sanyo, Samsung, Element, Hisense, Sharp, TCL, Toshiba, Vizio, Sony, AOC, and Insignia.
Testing results found:
11 of the 12 TVs contained flame retardants at concentrations of up to 33% of the weight of the plastic enclosure.
Eight of the TVs contained flame retardants of high concern.
Two of the TVs – one made by Element and one made by Samsung – contained the PBDE flame retardant deca-BDE, despite being banned in five states. Those states are Washington, Maine, Oregon, Vermont, and Maryland. The TVs in the study were purchased in Washington.
Only one TV, made by Insignia, did not contain any of the flame retardants tested for.
The flame retardants tested for in the study are linked to a variety of negative health effects, including harm to the nervous system, hormone disruption, and cancer. Studies released in the past year linked higher levels of deca-BDE in the home with greater incidence of thyroid cancer and buildup of brominated flame retardants in placenta with altered thyroid hormone function.
“TV manufacturers must step up to safeguard the health of their customers. Televisions shouldn’t contain flame retardants that can escape into house dust and are linked to serious health effects like hormone disruption and cancer,” said Erika Schreder, Science Director for Toxic-Free Future and lead author of the study. “It’s disappointing that two TVs contained the banned flame retardant deca-BDE. Attorneys General in states that have banned deca must investigate and take action if warranted.”
The research shows that after PBDE flame retardants were banned, TV manufacturers switched to other chemical flame retardants that pose a health risk for people. These new generation flame retardants include DBDPE, which is almost identical to deca-BDE, together with other brominated flame retardants already found to be building up in people.
Dr. Mark Rossi, Executive Director of Clean Production Action states, “the testing results highlight the need for manufacturers to understand the toxicity of chemicals in their products and to use tools like GreenScreen® to identify safer alternatives and avoid regrettable substitutes.”
The study found that while television manufacturers have issued various statements and policies over the years about the use of flame retardant chemicals in their products, only two companies publicly report efforts to reduce chemicals of concern in their products. LG has banned all PBDE flame retardants in its products and Insignia (private label brand of Best Buy) launched a pilot project in 2015 to redesign the power source of its TV. Best Buy has also publicly committed to phase out chemicals of concern from its products, reduce its use of harmful chemicals, and improve its management of chemicals.
“This fall as we gather around the TV with our families to watch our favorite shows and football games, these products may be unsuspectingly releasing dangerous chemicals into our homes,” said Mike Schade, Mind the Store Campaign Director for Safer Chemicals Healthy Families. “Major retailers of electronics like Best Buy can play an important role in working with their suppliers to eliminate toxic flame retardants and substitute them with safer alternatives. We are pleased that Best Buy has developed a new chemicals management program and hope they and other retailers will reduce and eliminate these dangerous chemicals.
A coalition of environmental health and business groups are urging the following policy actions to reduce exposure to toxic flame retardants from televisions:
State policy action: states should restrict high-concern flame retardants in television enclosures and require manufacturers to assess and adopt safer alternatives.
Enforcement: states with laws banning the use of deca-BDE should immediately take action against companies selling televisions containing the chemical.
Right to Know: states should require companies to disclose chemicals of high concern in electronics, including televisions.
Companies can make safer products: manufacturers should adopt and make public comprehensive chemicals policies to ensure televisions they produce are free of high-concern flame retardants.
Retailers can act: retailers should adopt and make public comprehensive chemicals policies to ensure televisions they sell are free of high-concern flame retardants.
“This study shows that state laws are important tools to protect health and environment from harmful chemicals,” said Sarah Doll, National Director of Safer States. “However, the study also shows the need for better enforcement of those laws. Without enforcement, manufacturers can continue to use toxic chemicals despite promises to the contrary. We call on State Attorneys General to enforce existing bans on toxic flame retardants and for state leaders to adopt policies that get other toxic flame retardants out of consumer products.”
http://saferchemicals.org/newsroom/toxic-flame-retardant-chemicals-found-in-tvs/
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Endocrine-Disrupting Preservatives Promote Obesity, US Study Finds
Sep 19, 2017 | Chemical Watch
A human stem cell study has linked the preservatives butylhydroxytoluene (BHT), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and tributyltin (TBT) to obesity.
In the study, researchers from Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles exposed stem cell-grown tissue to each chemical one by one, and then in combination. They found that hormonal signalling networks between the gut and the brain were interrupted.
When this signalling system breaks down, people often continue eating, because the gut fails to communicate a feeling of satiety when full.
Testing the three chemicals together, the combined stress on the system was even more robust, study author Dhruv Sareen said in a press release. And of the three preservatives tested on their own, BHT produced some of the strongest detrimental effects.
BHT is an antioxidant commonly added to breakfast cereals and other foods to protect nutrients and keep fats from turning rancid. TBT has been used in antifouling paints and as an active biocide against a range of organisms. And PFOA is a polymer found in some cookware, carpeting and other products. In Europe, its manufacture and use has recently been restricted.
Testing system with potential
Older studies have shown these compounds can disrupt hormone systems in laboratory animals. But this is the first study to use human pluripotent stem cells and tissues to document how they may disrupt hormones that are critical to gut-to-brain signalling and preventing obesity in people, Dr Sareen said.
The testing system developed for the study could provide a safe and cost-effective method that can be used to evaluate the health effects of thousands of existing and new chemicals in the environment, the researchers say.
Dr Sareen and his team obtained blood samples from adults, and then, by introducing reprogramming genes, converted the cells into induced pluripotent stem cells. From them, they grew human epithelium tissue, which lines the gut, and neuronal tissues of the brain's hypothalamus region, which regulates appetite and metabolism.
BHT, PFOA and TBT disrupted networks that prepare signalling hormones, thus making them ineffective. The chemicals also damaged mitochondria — cellular structures that convert food and oxygen into energy and drive the body's metabolism.
"By testing these chemicals on actual human tissues in the lab, we potentially could make [chemical safety] evaluations easier to conduct and more cost-effective," Dr Sareen said.
He added that the study also hints at potential birth effects. Because the chemical damage occurred in early-stage "young" cells, the findings suggest that a defective hormone system could impact a pregnant woman as well as her foetus in the womb, he said.
The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.
https://chemicalwatch.com/59014/endocrine-disrupting-preservatives-promote-obesity-us-study-finds
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House Approves 2018 Spending Bills, Rejects Further US EPA Cuts
Sep 19, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The House of Representatives has approved legislation setting out 2018 government spending. As a result, the funding for the EPA – proposed by an appropriations committee in July – remains unchanged.
HR 3354, which covers the EPA, was included in a package of 12 appropriations bills, covering all discretionary federal funding for the new fiscal year that was approved largely along party lines.
An amendment was added to another section of the package, cutting off funding to enforce the rule requiring disclosure related to conflict minerals.
If Congress follows standard procedure, the House bills would ultimately have to be reconciled with versions passed by the Senate. However, in recent years, lawmakers have circumvented that and instead passed large omnibus bills.
To give themselves more time, Congress has already voted to extend 2017 spending levels for ten weeks into the new fiscal year, which runs from October this year until September 2018. That extension expires on 8 December.
If a permanent agreement is not reached, it will have to pass another continuing resolution to avert a government-wide shut down.
EPA funding
The legislation would fund the EPA at $7.5bn overall. While this would reduce the agency's budget by $528m below the fiscal year 2017 enacted level, it is close to $1.9bn above the 30% cut called for in the Trump administration’s requested budget.
The bill recommends $92.5m for the toxics risk review and prevention programme, in line with 2017 funding levels, and $27.5m more than was proposed by the Trump administration.
In floor debate on the spending bills, an amendment to cut $10m from the EPA’s enforcement budget was defeated 228 to 184, with 42 Republicans voting with the minority Democrats. The proposal was offered by Representatives Andy Biggs (Republican-Arizona) and Jason Smith (Republican-Missouri).
Another proposal by Representative Biggs, to eliminate funding for the embattled Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), was on the list of potential amendments approved by the House Rules Committee but was not offered during the floor debate.
An amendment offered by Representative Ralph Norman (Republican-South Carolina) to cut EPA funding to the level proposed by President Trump failed by a vote of 260 to 151, with 75 Republicans joining all but one Democrat in opposition.
Conflict minerals
The conflict minerals provision, proposed by Representative Bill Huizenga (Republican-Michigan), would cut off funding to "implement, administer, or enforce" section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The law requires publicly traded companies to investigate and disclose their use of the conflict minerals – tantalum, tin, tungsten and gold (3TG). The purpose is to prevent the support of armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring countries, but the law has the effect of requiring companies to disclose the source of their minerals.
Acting Security and Exchange Commission Chairman Michael Piwowar issued a statement in April, suggesting that the agency would not seek enforcement for failure to submit ‘enhanced disclosure’ documents, but companies are reported to have largely continued the practice.
The Huizenga amendment was approved on a party-line vote of 211 to 195, with ten Republicans joining all Democrats in voting no.
https://chemicalwatch.com/58735/house-approves-2018-spending-bills-rejects-further-us-epa-cuts
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Echa Says Benefits of REACH Authorisation Outweigh Risks
Sep 20, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Luke Buxton
Echa’s analysis of the first 100 applications for REACH authorisation shows the socio-economic benefits of continued use of SVHCs "outweigh" the risks to human health and the environment, according to a new agency report.
The applications were for 118 uses of 21 SVHCs from 2013 to 2016.
The monetised risks to human health in the EU, associated with the continued use of substances that require authorisation, is estimated to be €254m per year by applicants, and €281m per year by Echa’s Committees for Risk Assessment and Socio-economic Analysis (Rac and Seac).
On the other hand, applicants estimated that ceasing the uses they applied for would mean costs of €25.3bn per year – over €20bn higher than the Rac and Seac figure of €4.2bn.
The aggregate benefit-cost ratio per continued use in the applications was 100:1. Based on Rac and Seac assessments, the report says, the ratio was 15:1.
Using industry-wide exposure measurements, it says, it is possible to come up with approximate estimates of statistical cancer cases that were prevented, "partly due" to authorisation requirements.
Better risk management measures in authorisations for hard chrome plating, for example, "may prevent 2.7 to 11 statistical cancer deaths per year". This depends, however, on the assumed number of workers exposed throughout the EU, and the preventive effect of additional risk management measures to be implemented as part of the authorisation.
"Monetising these cancer cases implies social benefits of approximately €10-55m per year, which may be attributable to REACH," the report says.
It adds that Rac recommended that additional risk management measures, operating conditions or monitoring requirements be imposed as part of an authorisation for 85 out of the 118 uses (72%).
And alongside Seac, Rac recommended the review periods for authorised uses be, on average, 2.5 years shorter than that proposed by the applicants.
Promoting substitution
Authorisation has driven companies to substitute hazardous substances with safer alternatives, according to the report. No applications were received for seven substances and several applications contained planned substitution activities, it adds.
In their comments to Chemical Watch, NGOs say they welcome the analysis of the benefits authorisation can bring to society, but more needs to be done to replace hazardous chemicals.
CHEM Trust emphasises the urgency to identify SVHCs and include them in the authorisation process, which NGOs branded "ineffective" in their comments to the REACH Review earlier this year. CHEM Trust adds that the poor quality of REACH registration dossiers "remains a significant problem, which industry and regulators need to resolve".
The European Environmental Bureau says the benefits "could be even wider" if REACH’s potential for enhancing substitution is fully developed. Not granting authorisations when alternatives are available, for example, will avoid human and environmental exposures and support provision of safer alternatives, it adds.
The Swedish Chemicals agency, Kemi, says the candidate list is "a very strong tool" for substitution. For the replacement of safer alternatives to continue, it says Echa’s scrutiny of applications needs to be "rigid". And authorisations should only be granted "where really justified", and they should not be given for longer time periods "than necessary".
It warns that the conclusions made in the report "should be considered carefully" – Rac and Seac have only assessed the data included in the applications, which are company specific, and "not necessarily" done in the same way as a conventional cost benefit analysis, Kemi says.
https://chemicalwatch.com/59034/echa-says-benefits-of-reach-authorisation-outweigh-risks
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Meetings Resume With Protests But No Pipelines
Sep 20, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Rod Kuckro
For the first time since January, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will hold an open meeting today.
But don't expect assertive action on high-profile cases.
The agenda will barely make a dent in the agency's backlog of hundreds of cases, including some large natural gas pipelines.
That's likely because the chairman is in charge of setting the agenda and running public meetings, according to FERC's website. And the current chairman, Neil Chatterjee, is only temporarily serving in that role until President Trump's pick for permanent chairman, Jones Day attorney Kevin McIntyre, is confirmed by the Senate.
The electric agenda has 22 items for consideration, "the most controversial" item being a rehearing order for Pacific Gas & Electric Co.'s transmission tariff, said Christine Tezak, managing director of ClearView Energy Partners LLC and a veteran follower of FERC.
"They usually do the FERC standards at an open meeting," she said, adding, "I would say doing E-4 [Emergency Preparedness and Operations Reliability Standards] is probably a great idea after a couple of hurricanes."
Whither the pipelines?
The natural gas agenda has three relatively minor items, including a Texas Eastern Transmission customer settlement on costs related to polychlorinated biphenyls contamination and an amended tariff waiver of filing and reporting requirements for the Western Refining pipeline.
There are more than 40 pipelines in the queue at FERC, and some have been touted as critical to the transition of the electric generation fleet to plentiful, inexpensive natural gas.
It is not what was expected by many in the industry who have been hearing — since FERC lost its quorum — about agency staff working hard to tee up major issues for the commission to act on once votes could again occur.
"Our wonderful staff is here," Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur said in a July interview (Greenwire, July 13). "The last five or six months have demonstrated even more than usual how they make the place go."
She explained: "You have to be fairly dedicated to task to diligently draft an order ... and send it upstairs even though you know nobody can work on it. People have worked hard to keep things as normal as possible."
Without a quorum, FERC could only do certain things, such as environmental reviews, dam safety inspections, audits and enforcement work.
But most of the staff's work was preparing for the arrival of new commissioners. LaFleur said the staff has been working to prepare orders and outline policy issues so new members can "hit the ground running."
"We've tried to get things as ready as we can for consideration," LaFleur said. Commission staff has been putting orders into batches to ensure that new commissioners do not just "go dabble" in whatever interests them.
"It would have been great to see some projects" on the agenda, said Cathy Landry, vice president for communication at the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America.
"We do know they're working," Landry said of FERC staff. "I don't think we want to prejudge or read too much into it that they're not working on things. I think they are. And this does not mean that projects aren't going to be coming down the pike pretty quickly. We don't have to wait for the next meeting," she said, as the commission can approve pipelines anytime. It did just that Aug. 25 when it signed off on the $2 billion, 255-mile Nexus pipeline (Greenwire, Aug. 28).
"They sky isn't falling, let's just put it that way," Landry said.
"Frankly, I was surprised that there aren't any pipelines on the agenda," Tezak said, since infrastructure is a key focus of the administration.
"There are at least three I can think of off the top of my head" that are ripe for action, two that had their environmental assessments finished in March and one, PennEast, that saw its final environmental impact statement completed.
"You've got several of these projects asking for orders sooner rather than later," Tezak said.
The agenda "is very vanilla. The stuff that's on this agenda I would have expected to see go out notationally," she said, referring to FERC's almost daily practice of acting on noncontroversial matters with votes outside a meeting.
"I'm fascinated to see what the discussion is like," she said.
Anti-pipeline protests promised
A coalition of more than 100 groups, many of which have protested at FERC before, have pledged to demonstrate outside FERC headquarters today to "greet the commissioners" before trying to thwart security and take their message into the commission's meeting room.
The groups are generally opposed to any expansion of fossil fuel use and have targeted the Atlantic Coast, Constitution and Valley Lateral pipeline projects.
The meeting is not exactly what may have been anticipated since the quorum was lost in January. "Maybe it'll be a short meeting," said Ken Irvin, co-leader of Sidley Austin LLP's global energy practice.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/09/20/stories/1060061139
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Sep 19, 2017 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Carolyn Davis
Two polyethylene (PE) units at Old Ocean east of Houston in Brazoria County have begun production, with each able produce up to 500,000 metric tons/year to service ever-increasing petrochemical demand, Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LLC said Tuesday.
The units, which achieved mechanical completion in June, are a key part of a massive petrochemical expansionunderway by the company on the Gulf Coast of Texas.
“In 2011, Chevron Phillips Chemical was the first to announce a leading-edge $6 billion petrochemicals project to take advantage of the newfound shale gas resources in the United States and I am thrilled we are completing the first phase of this project,” said CEO Mark Lashier, president and CEO. This “incredible new asset...will allow us to continue to meet the growing demand of our loyal customer base worldwide.”
The Marlex PE resin produced at Old Ocean is to be delivered to customers in North America and to U.S. transloading facilities for global export.
“Abundant shale gas resources are fueling an economic revival that extends across the nation and supports economic growth around the globe,” Lashier said.
At peak construction, the company’s U.S. Gulf Coast Petrochemicals Project employed 10,000 contractors to build not only the PE units in Old Ocean but a world-scale ethane cracker underway at existing facilities in Baytown.
The ethane cracker and ethylene derivatives facilities initially were announced in late 2011, with the project given a green light in 2013. The Baytown facility, flooded during Hurricane Harvey, now expects to complete ethane cracker construction and begin commissioning by early 2018. Full production is expected during the second quarter.
http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/111792
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Harvey Makes Landfall in Texas, but Drilling Returns Remain Strong
Sep 20, 2017 | Platts Blog
By Taylor Cavey
Despite devastating weather that sent energy market participants into a frenzy, the average of the 12-month forward curve for WTI remained flat month on month at $50.43/b. However, internal rates of return (IRR) increased across the board due in large part to higher natural gas liquids (NGLs) prices.
More than three weeks ago, Hurricane Harvey hit the US Gulf Coast with an estimated 51 inches of rain near Mt. Belvieu, Texas, a prominent US NGL price hub. As a result, the entire midstream sector was forced to respond, sending liquids prices higher. While we typically think of the Permian and Eagle Ford basins as oil plays, there are a fair amount of NGLs produced as well. A typical well in both the Permian and Eagle Ford has an NGL composition of around 25%, and with higher liquids prices, returns in each play have benefited. IRRs in the Permian Delaware and Eagle Ford increased 1.3 percentage points to 32% and 25%, respectively.
While the full impact to crude oil production remains to be seen, it’s clear the storm will have a lasting effect on producer activity in the Gulf. Prior to Harvey’s landfall, a number of producers scaled back drilling operations while shutting in a number of wells. Using Platts Analytics’ Eagle Ford natural gas production sample as a guide, as much as 800,000 b/d of crude oil production could have been shut in during the storm.
Similarly, on the gas side, natural gas prices remained relatively stable. However, the 14 cents/MMBtu increase in the 12-month forward curve sent IRRs in gas-focused plays higher. Rates of return in the Northeast saw the greatest increases as the early stages of an unconstrained takeaway environment began to unfold.
In the last week, two long-awaited expansion projects have begun service, most notably Energy Transfer Partners’ Rover Pipeline Project. On September 1, Phase I of the project began partial service, less than 24 hours after receiving US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval. Since then, production receipts on the pipe have increased to 700 MMcf/d, roughly 45% of the total Phase I capacity.
During this time, local supply prices at Dominion South have increased as producers are becoming increasingly able to find a home for their gas. Returns in the Utica dry, a key supply source for Rover, increased 2.2% from last month to 11.31% this month. Additionally, the TGP Susquehanna West project, which will transport up to 145 MMcf/d of producer-backed Marcellus gas in Northeast Pennsylvania to the National Fuel Gas Supply pipeline in Potter County, Pennsylvania, began service. Typically during this time of year, demand in Northeast Pennsylvania is on the decline, and while the well economics in Northeast Pennsylvania dominate those of competing Appalachia plays, supply is generally locked in. However, TGP Susquehanna West is helping to relieve those constraints. Returns in the Marcellus dry, which makes up much of Pennsylvania, increased 3.5% to 12.7% in September.
http://blogs.platts.com/2017/09/20/harvey-texas-drilling-returns-strong/
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Gulf Coast Energy Complex Still Licking Wounds After Hurricane Harvey
Sep 20, 2017 | Houston Chronicle
By Collin Eaton
The Gulf Coast's vast energy network is making a comeback three weeks after Hurricane Harvey.
Fifteen of the 20 refineries that went down or slowed production have almost fully recovered, with about 1 million barrels a day of refining capacity still offline, IHS Markit said in an update on Wednesday.
"Steady progress appears to have been made and the four refineries in active restart may very well be operating normally by this weekend," IHS said.
Average U.S. gasoline prices have edged down by about 5 cents to $2.62per gallon of regular.
Demand for gasoline, particularly in the southwestern United States, has dropped this month as two major hurricanes destroyed cars and left roads impassable.
In Florida, motorists fleeing Hurricane Irma had boosted southeastern gas demand by 19 percent.
Gasoline stocks dropped at a slower rate last week than the week before.
U.S. oil production has recovered, after Harvey threatened well sites in the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas and in the Gulf of Mexico. Daily output rose from 8.8 million barrels to 9.4 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Department.
IHS also noted the Zydeco pipeline has reopened with the capacity to carry 325,000 barrels a day from Texas to Louisiana. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude benchmark, remains around $6 a barrel below Brent, the international standard.
"We expect the spread to narrow as refinery runs continue to recover, crude export volumes increase and crude imports subside," IHS said.
Petrochemical plants also continue to recover. Only 10 percent of the nation's production of ethylene, the primary building block of the most common plastics, remains offline, compared to more than 50 percent immediately after Hurricane Harvey.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Gulf-Coast-energy-complex-still-licking-wounds-12214895.php
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Refinery Weakened by Harvey Catches Fire
Sep 20, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Nathanial Gronewold
An oil refinery battered by Hurricane Harvey caught fire yesterday, highlighting the lingering dangers inherent in restarting these shuttered fuels manufacturing plants.
Valero Energy Corp. representatives confirmed that its Port Arthur complex experienced a localized blaze starting at about 11:50 a.m. CDT yesterday as the plant's workers were bringing production back online. Harvey had weakened to a tropical storm when it overtook Port Arthur and other communities east of Houston, but the storm's heavy rains swamped the city and its refining and petrochemical manufacturing infrastructure.
As a result, major refining operations have been offline for weeks. Refineries and petrochemical facilities are still working to return operations to full pre-Harvey levels.
Valero representative Steven Lee issued a statement late yesterday indicating that the fire had been put out with the help of local fire departments. The company reported no injuries or fatalities and that all employees and crew at the site had been accounted for.
The fire occurred at "a heavy oil tank," Lee said. "Valero emergency crews along with the Port Arthur Fire Department responded to the fire. The fire was contained and has been extinguished."
Authorities asked nearby residences to "shelter in place" during the fire. Spokesperson Lillian Riojas said this step was taken only "as a precautionary measure."
An environmental group active in the Houston area's refining region earlier expressed concern about the threat area residents face as Harvey-hammered industrial facilities are brought back online. They argued that the restarting of shuttered refineries could lead to excessive air pollution wafting over households (Energywire, Sept. 13).
The organization, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (TEJAS), also actively monitors facility fires and other industrial accidents at refineries and has argued in the past that major fires at refineries have exposed residents to dangerous levels of pollution.
Lee said in the company's statement that neither U.S. EPA nor the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) have detected any issues stemming from this latest fire.
"Air monitoring conducted by EPA and TCEQ both confirmed there was no negative off-site community impact," he said.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/09/20/stories/1060061169
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Trump EPA Nominee to Fight Worker Safety Rule in Court
Sep 19, 2017 | The Hill - Regulation
By Lydia Wheeler
President Trump’s pick to lead air and radiation policy at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is slated to argue on behalf of industry groups in a federal court of appeals next week against an Obama-era rule protecting workers from being exposed to harmful silica dust.
As first reported by Politico, William Wehrum, a partner at Hunton & Williams, confirmed in a court filing Tuesday that he is arguing on behalf of the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association and the Brick Industry Association against the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) silica dust rule.
Before making his case to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Sept. 26, Wehrum was scheduled to take the hot seat before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works at his nomination hearing on Wednesday.
The committee, however, postponed that hearing on Tuesday.
The industry groups argue the rule, which cut acceptable silica exposure from 100 cubic meters of air to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air over the course of an eight-hour workday, is a solution in search of a problem.
“Silicosis mortality rates have declined more than 90 percent in this country (a decrease from 1065 deaths in 1968 to 101 in 2010),” the groups said in court documents.
“OSHA nevertheless asserts that this new standard is justified because of its evaluation of five disease endpoints (silicosis mortality, nonmalignant respiratory disease mortality, silicosis morbidity, silica related lung cancer, and renal disease).”
The Trump administration is defending the rule against eight lawsuits — two on behalf of unions and six on behalf of industry groups — that have been consolidated for 90-minute arguments next week.
The administration claims it’s undisputed that the silica causes serious, even fatal, health effects in exposed workers.
“Attempts by industry petitioners and interveners to portray silica-related diseases as problems of the past are belied by the large body of scientific evidence, including many peer-reviewed epidemiological studies, linking silica exposures at, and even below, the previous [permissible exposure limits] with increased rates of illness and death,” Kristen Lindberg, the Labor Department’s senior attorney, argued in briefs.
OSHA is scheduled to start enforcing the rule on Sept. 23.
Wehrum has been nominated to be an assistant administrator for air and radiation at the EPA, where he would be responsible for the bulk of Trump's efforts to roll back rules on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and ozone pollution.
Wehrum did not respond to requests for comment.
In an email, EPA spokeswoman Liz Bowman said this is nothing improper about Wehrum arguing against the rule in court.
"The case is a challenge to an OSHA workplace exposure limit for respirable silica," she said. "It has absolutely nothing to do with EPA or with any of Mr. Wehrum's duties or responsibilities with regard to his EPA nomination."
http://thehill.com/regulation/administration/351380-trump-epa-nominee-to-fight-worker-safety-rule-in-court
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(ACC Mentioned) Climate Change And Hurricanes
Sep 20, 2017 | WAMC
By Judith Enck
There were just a few days between the time when Hurricane Harvey caused historic flooding in Texas and Louisiana and when Hurricane Irma slammed into the Carribean, Florida and Georgia.
We all prayed that that the hurricanes would not kill, injure or cause massive suffering. These hurricanes did all of that, and caused billions of dollars in damage.
During that tiny gap between hurricanes, President Trump nominated William Wehrum as EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation. In Washington-speak, if Mr. Wehrum is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he will be the most important federal government staff on climate change.
Mr. Wehrum is a lawyer for the energy industry. His firm represents the American Petroleum Institute and American Chemical Council – the top trade associations that oppose clean air and sensible climate change policies. His policies are so bad that when nominated by George W. Bush for the same position, he was blocked in the Senate.
If confirmed, Mr. Wehrum will be working at an EPA that in a few months has rolled back the nation’s most important climate change rules and policies that took many years to enact.
His new boss, President Trump, claims that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese government.
He will be working for a president who pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Change accord, bringing a marching band to the White House to trumpet this horrible announcement.
In other words, he will fit right in.
These poorly informed climate change positions will cost American lives.
Our planet is warming.
Climate change does not cause hurricanes. But, it makes them much worse in three major ways:
1. Warmer water temperature is like rocket fuel, making storms much more intense.
2. Warmer weather heats the water, causing more evaporation, which increases moisture in the atmosphere. This means more rain.
3. Melting glaciers raise sea level, making storm surges bigger and making coastal communities flood more.
A recent article in “Popular Science” put it best: “Climate change may have been the difference between being hit by a tricycle and being hit by a truck.”
There is a lot that the private sector, individuals, and local governments can do.
But we have to be bold and move fast.
I applaud New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy for investigating Exxon Mobil’s role on climate change.
Communities are committing to 100 percent renewable energy.
A growing list of governments and institutions have divested from fossil fuel investments.
This all helps, but having the federal government actively promote the extraction and burning of oil, coal and gas will do permanent damage to our world.
If the destruction from Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma does not convince the Trump administration to change course, I fear that nothing will.
http://wamc.org/post/judith-enck-climate-change-and-hurricanes
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Kerry Slams Trump Team: 'That's Not Leadership'
Sep 20, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Jean Chemnick
John Kerry thinks the United States will meet its commitments under the Paris climate deal even if the Trump administration spends the next few years on the sidelines.
The former senator and Obama administration secretary of State told a small group of reporters here yesterday that he believes cities, states and the markets will deliver the emissions reductions he promised the world outside the French capital in 2015. His comments came on the sidelines of a climate change conference at Yale University this week.
"I believe the United States will meet and conceivably exceed the Paris goals," he said, citing advances in wind, solar and other technologies he said would usher in "exponential" reductions over the next few years.
But Kerry — who is spending his first year outside of the federal government since 1985 — took a dim view of Washington's role.
He condemned President Trump's June decision to scuttle the United States' Paris commitments as a "completely contrived and extremely damaging step" that would hurt U.S. businesses. And he dismissed persistent hints by White House National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and his team that the president might reconsider U.S. membership in the deal if certain conditions are met.
"It may leave a few people guessing, but it doesn't buy you back your credibility," said Kerry, in response to questions about Cohn's meeting Monday with foreign officials in New York. "You can't run around secretly, quietly, saying to somebody, 'Wait, maybe we'll come back.' That's not leadership. That doesn't get you anywhere. And people don't respect that."
The United States has gone from the leader and convener in international climate negotiations to a country that must be managed, he said.
"Countries are deeply rattled by the uncertainty, inconsistency and doubt. And they're counting the days," he said.
Kerry, a longtime Massachusetts Democratic senator who in 2009 and 2010 led an effort to pass carbon cap-and-trade legislation, said he has little hope that Congress will renew that effort anytime soon. Congress, he said, "needs to make itself relevant to life in America again."
But despite this pessimism about Washington, Kerry stocked the two-day conference he hosted at his alma mater Monday and yesterday with conservative former statesmen and drew on old Capitol Hill friendships to deliver pro-climate-action comments from two current Republican senators: John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
Bipartisan Senate climate bill in the works
Graham used the forum to make an announcement: He's working with a Democrat to draft climate legislation.
In a recorded message played during an afternoon session yesterday, Graham announced that he is working with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) — whom he called "a very practical, progressive Democrat" — on legislation to price carbon.
"I believe that the greenhouse gas effect is real, that CO2 emissions generated by man is creating our greenhouse gas effect that traps heat, and the planet is warming," he said on the video. "I'm looking for a solution that is pro-business, and we need to get to the bottom of the problem."
Whitehouse and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) introduced their bill two months ago at the conservative American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., while inviting Republican input. It's not clear if Graham will add his name to their bill or draft a new one with Whitehouse. The offices of Graham and Whitehouse did not respond to requests for comment.
It's not the first time Graham has joined a bipartisan effort at comprehensive climate legislation. He partnered with Kerry and then-Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) on a cap-and-trade bill during the Obama administration but abandoned the project days before the trio had been set to release their draft. He's generally shied away from the issue since, sometimes telling the media he had doubts about the extent to which humans cause warming.
Asked what lessons he drew from the failure of his bill with Lieberman, Kerry said yesterday that he doesn't regret any particular mistake.
"We actually did a lot right," he said.
He said 55 senators promised to vote for the bill, including McCain — a head count that wasn't public at the time. The bill never received a vote on the floor.
Kerry blamed the bill's demise on Peabody Energy Corp.'s targeting of Graham and others and on the BP PLC Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which stripped the project of some of its energy industry support and sucked up political attention.
"That's called timing," Kerry said.
Graham at the time blamed his own defection on then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who signaled that spring that he would move immigration legislation before the climate change bill even though the House had already passed cap and trade narrowly the previous year. The move exposed Graham, who was working with Democrats on immigration, as well, and undercut the effort, according to the South Carolina Republican.
Graham said in his video message that a price on carbon could generate funds for infrastructure while making renewable energy and nuclear power more viable. "I think we can do this in a business-friendly manner," he said.
Returning to 'days of rage'?
McCain made a more general plug for climate action, coupled with a plea for bipartisan cooperation to avoid the deep divisions that characterized the years around the Vietnam War. He recalled how he and Kerry made common cause on lingering issues around the war they both fought in.
"Right now, we are very divisive," he said of the current political climate. "We don't want to go back to the days of rage, so let's all work together."
Former Secretary of State James Baker, who served under President George H.W. Bush, joined Kerry at Yale to tout his own proposal for a revenue-neutral carbon tax that, unlike the one contemplated by Graham and Whitehouse, would return revenue to the public in the form of dividends rather than spending it.
Asked whether he thought the increased prevalence of disastrous storms like Hurricane Harvey would convince Republicans of the need to address climate change, Baker said, "no."
Political divisions coupled with a lack of GOP-friendly options for confronting climate change are keeping conservatives from acknowledging it is occurring, he said. More data points won't help.
"I don't understand why we can't recognize the divisiveness of this debate, just like immigration and health care, is such that we need to find solutions that don't require one side or the other to say 'OK, the other side was right,'" he said.
He predicted that the Graham-Whitehouse effort would be complicated by questions about how the money would be spent and whether that would grow the government. He proposed they avoid that by disbursing it to the public instead, as his draft with George W. Bush-era Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Reagan-era Secretary of State George Shultz would do.
Kerry — who volunteered for the first Earth Day as a young man, recently returned from a trip to Vietnam and has generally approached climate change as an environmental and humanitarian issue — took care to cast it as an economic one throughout his Yale conference.
Trump was unwise, he said, to undercut U.S. companies by leaving the Paris deal. International energy infrastructure that might have been built by U.S. companies will now more likely be developed by companies from countries that have joined most of the world in accepting the Paris accord, he said.
"It makes it harder for our companies," he said. "They have to go out and fight against the perception that America's a laggard."
Kerry said he regrets that the United States hasn't worked more closely with China on international development, saying such a partnership could have been "planet-changing."
Republicans including Baker have said China's Paris pledges might never be delivered. But analysts say China's business-as-usual trajectory has it peaking its emissions years before the promised 2030 date.
"There's no grass growing under the feet of the Chinese," said Kerry. "They're moving."
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/09/20/stories/1060061177
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